Meet Ian Muncaster, Judge

We are delighted and honoured to have Ian Muncaster join us for our 5th Annual Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival as the Judge.

About the Judge

Ian Muncaster, owner of Zwicker’s Gallery in Halifax, moved to Canada in the early 1950s as part of the wave of post-World War II immigrants from war-torn Europe.

After working in several bank branches in Ontario, he studied English and History at the University of British Columbia (1955-57), Bishop’s University (1957-59), and at Western University (1960-62) where he received his MBA in marketing. After working for several years in marketing with firms such as Proctor & Gamble, J. Walter Thompson, McLaren Advertising and Peat Marwick, he moved to Halifax in 1970 to help establish the MBA program at Dalhousie University.

Zwicker’s Gallery, the oldest commercial art gallery in Canada, was facing bankruptcy at that time and Ian was asked to take on management of the gallery. After retiring from Dalhousie in 1974, he began running Zwicker’s full-time with wife Ann and two cats and has become an acknowledged expert in fine art.

Apart from the gallery, he has served on several Boards including Neptune Theater (1979-81), the Art Dealer’s Association of Canada (1974-2010), and the Cultural Property Review Board in Ottawa (2001-07).

In his spare time, what little there is, he herds a collection of kittens and reads books on history under the diligent supervision of a number of “small people in fur coats”.